Causatives
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The following is a mini-tutorial on CAUSATIVES. Once you have completed the tutorial, you are ready to
do the practice exercises.
Causative verbs are a form of passive voice that we use when we want to talk about someone doing
something for us. For example:
Carol has her hair coloured every six weeks
Jim and Anne getting a new alarm system installed
These are services that someone else provides for us. In the first example, Carol does not colour her
own hair; her hairdresser does. In the second example, Jim and Anne are not installing the alarm system
themselves; someone from the security company they have contracted will do that.
The structure for causatives is:
Subject + causative verb + object + past participle
Have and get are the two most frequently used verbs with this structure; however, it’s also possible to
use other verbs in a causative structure. For example, make and let:
My mother makes us wash our hands before dinner
He let me use his computer
When make is used within a causative structure, it expresses the idea that one person requires another
person to do something.
When let is used within a causative structure, it expresses the idea that one person allows another
person to do something.
Notice that the structure for make and let is slightly different from the structure we use for have and get
in that both the subject and object are people. The causative structure for make and let is:
person (subject) + make / let + person (object) + infinitive (without to)
You should also note that need and want can be used as causatives. In some cases, it is even possible to
drop the causative verb. Look at these examples:
I need to have my teeth cleaned
I need my teeth cleaned
We want to get ceiling fans installed
We want ceiling fans installed
It’s also possible to use modal verbs with causatives. Notice, though, that when a modal verb is u sed, it
must always accompany the causative verb. A modal verb cannot stand alone within the causative
structure.
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